Have a deposit on a dog out of pointing lines due in December, obviously want the dog to be steady in the duck blind obviously but also want to pheasant hunt as well...my question is will letting the dog haul ass after a pheasant or quail after it flushes and is shot, affect the dog being steady when duck hunting??? Anybody have experience with this?

I know the pointing lines sound all sexy, but make sure you have done your homework. Many of the guys that are doing the pointing stuff, have bred for the point, and all the other stuff tends to take a back seat...like marking. I know this is a blanket statement, and there are some very good lines out there, but you will want to make sure the sire and dam have titles in multiple venues, not just the APLA...

On the steadiness question...I have two labs that I guide with in SoDak. We don't steady them to the flush, because usually we have a bunch of guys that don't shoot the best...crippling birds, so it is critical to have your dogs out on those birds as quickly as possible. We also want to keep the whistles to a minimum, so a quick "no here" on the hens is all you need.

If you train for steadiness and run your dogs in the hunt test venues, you shouldn't have any problem switching back and forth between the upland and the marsh....check out NAHRA, they are the best testing program for producing an all around hunting dog...They are tested in how they quarter a field, and at the higher levels, must be steady to flush and shot...

I have a two year old female pointing lab and successfully hunt her for waterfowl as well as upland (primarily pheasant and quail). If you follow a training program and build on the basic OB you will not have a problem. As said before Sit means sit, my girls butt will not leave the ground until I send her.

Labs wrote:I know the pointing lines sound all sexy, but make sure you have done your homework. Many of the guys that are doing the pointing stuff, have bred for the point, and all the other stuff tends to take a back seat...like marking. I know this is a blanket statement, and there are some very good lines out there, but you will want to make sure the sire and dam have titles in multiple venues, not just the APLA...

On the steadiness question...I have two labs that I guide with in SoDak. We don't steady them to the flush, because usually we have a bunch of guys that don't shoot the best...crippling birds, so it is critical to have your dogs out on those birds as quickly as possible. We also want to keep the whistles to a minimum, so a quick "no here" on the hens is all you need.

If you train for steadiness and run your dogs in the hunt test venues, you shouldn't have any problem switching back and forth between the upland and the marsh....check out NAHRA, they are the best testing program for producing an all around hunting dog...They are tested in how they quarter a field, and at the higher levels, must be steady to flush and shot...

Labs

Pointing labs are tested on marking and if the parents are titled to multiple GMPR I would consider that proof of marking ability. The APLA mater test is conceptually tougher than a SH test (marks up to 100 yards, blind in contention with marks, blinds under the arc of marks) and if the dog is a 3x or 4x GMPR I believe this to be equal or superior to a SH title. That being said the vast majority of studs sport advanced titles in HRC and/or AKC.

To the OP I have a MPR HR JH YLM that will be 2 in Dec. they definitely know the difference between the duck blind and the pheasant field. OB is crucial and I highly suggest that train steady to wing and shot for safety reasons and steady to wing, shot, and fall if you plan on running APLA.

Just out of curiosity what breeder or lines are you getting your pup from? Parents?

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. - C.S. Lewis

ScaupHunter wrote:Train sit to flush. Bella wanted to bolt after upland birds even when I missed them. Sit to flush fixed that.

If the dog truly has pointing instinct then just train it like you would a versatile. No need to sit to flush. Just train to not move its feet after establishing point. This takes more work then it sounds and is accomplished through several steps. Train your pointing lab for waterfowl like you would any other lab and train it for upland like you would a pointing dog.

- both are outstanding retreivers. Great waterfowl and upland dogs. If you are looking for a shorthair like pointer, you will be dissappointed. My newest dog has a stronger point than the my first lab, but nothing like a pointer. I guess since I mostly waterfowl hunt it doesn't matter to me. Btw...my lab will be a pointing lab and the next after that. My two cents.